Foundation garment



M. LAGUZVZI FOUNDATION GARMENT 7 June 10, 1958 Filed July '29, 1955 INVENTOR "MARIO LAGUZZI ATTORNEYS FOUNDATION GARMENT Mario Laguzzi, New York,,N. Y., assignor to Poirette Corsets, Inc, New York, N. Y.

Application July 29, 1955, Serial No. 525,198 7 Claims. (Cl. 128--547) The present invention relates to foundation garments, and more particularly to foundation garments of the type designed to alter unattractive contours of the human body.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment such as a girdle, panty girdle, corset or corselet, in which the garmet is formed of panels having overlapped sections with the overlapped portions of such sections forming areas of greater control thereby to mold the contours of the body as desired, with the panels formed from fabric having either one-way or twoway stretch elasticity or combinations.

An important object of the invention is to construct a foundation type garment of sections of material, either elastic or inelastic combined with sections of elastic matethereby be so fashioned as to eachexert varying degrees of control on desired portions of the body of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment having panels including overlapped sections ofv elasticized material wherein the overlapped areas vary in width to distribute the stresses occurring at the end of each overlapped portion of each section.

A further object of the invention is to provide agarment in which the sections may be formed of either one-wayor two-way stretch elastic material, or combinations thereof, or with non-elastic material and oriented to establish the direction of stretch in a manner to mold or effect a smoothing of the contours of the body as desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a foundation garment constructed from panels of elasticized sections, with the meeting portions of the sections overlapped to provide areas of additional control for forming and smoothing the body contours of thewearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment of the above type in which the overlapped portions of the elasticized panels of the garment are formed so as to place bulges at the top of the garment.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification, when considered in relation to V the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the garment;

Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the garment;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the panel sections, showing the extent of overlapping by means of dotted lines;

Figure 5 is a vertical cross section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Figure 6 is a transverse cross section of one of the stays and its pocket taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

coincides with the waistline 13 of the garment.

Patented June 10, 1958 Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several figures. The reference numeral 10 indicates generally a foundation garment constructed according to the invention. The garment 10 consists of a front panel 11, a rear panel 12, each of which are formed of elastic or inelastic material. The rear panel 12 terminates below the waistline 13 and has an upper rearpanel 14 extending from the upper edge 12 of the panel 12 to the waistline 13, panel 14 being generally formed of elastic material. The panel 11 has downwardly and inwardly converging lower edges 15 and upwardly and inwardly converging upper edges 16. Triangular elastic panels 17 are joined to the bottom edge 15 of the panel 11 along the edge 17" of the panel 17, and triangular portions 18 are joined to the top edge 16 of the panel 11 along the edge 18 of the portion 18. Duplicate reversed side panels, generally indicated by the reference numeral 19, consists of a series of sections. A bottom section 20 is joined to the front portion of the garment along one upright edge 21 thereof, and to the rear portion of the garment along another edge 22 thereof, the bottom edge 23 of the section 20 extending to the bottom edge 50 of the garment 10. A central section 24 is secured along one upright edge 25 to the front portion of the garment 10, and along the opposite upright edge 26 to the rear portion of the garment 10, the edge 25 of section 24 being in line with the edge 21 of the section 20, while the edge 26 of the section 24 is in line with the edge 22 of the section 20. The bottom edge 27 of the section 24 is formed as a slight concave curve and overlaps, a substantial amount, the upper portion of the section 20. The upper edge 28 of the section 20 is formed in a generally straight'line and substantially overlaps the section 24, with the width of overlap being greatest at the point of attachment of the sections 20 and 24 to the front portion of the garment 10.

A section 29 is secured along one upright edge 30 to the front portion of the garment 10, and its upper edge 31 The edge. 32, opposite the edge 33, converges inwardly and upwardly toward the edge 30, and the lower edge 33 is formed in a straight line overlapping the section 24 throughout its length, and the section 20 at the forward edge thereof as at 34. The upper forward edge 35 of the section 24 is formed as a slight concave curve and overlaps the section 29 a substantial amount. The edge 33 and the edge 35 each extend downwardly and forwardly with the edges diverging so that the overlapped portions of the sections 24 and 29 have their greatest width at the point of connection of these sections to the front portion of the garment 10.

Section 36 is formed with its generally vertical rear edge 37 joined to the rear portion of the garment It with the edge 37 in line with the edges 22 and 26 of sections 20 and 24, respectively. The forward upper edge 33 of the section 36 is formed so as to converge toward the edge 37 in a direction toward the upper edge 39 of the section 36. The upper edge 39 coincides with the waistline 13 of the garment 10. The lower forward edge 49 .of the section 36 is formed in a generally straight line and overlaps the section 24. The upper rear edge 41 of the section 24 is likewise formed in a generally straight line :and overlaps the section 36. The edges 40 and 41 extend downwardly and rearwardly in a slightly divergent manner so that the greater width of the overlapped portions of the sections 24 and 36 occur at the point of joining of these sections 24 and 36 with the rear portion of the garment 10.

A triangular section 42 is positioned with its downwardly convergent edges 43 and 44 secured to the edges 32 and 38 of the sections 29 and 36, respectively. The

upper edge 45 coincides with the waistline 13 of the garment 10.

The sections 20, 24, 29, 36 and 42 may be formed from either one-way or two-way stretch material of a conventional construction. It should be understood that the orientation of the direction of stretch of the material may be varied, as desired, to effect the desired molding of the contours of the body. The panels 14 and 17, and the triangular portion 18, likewise may be formed of material having either a one-way or two-way stretch characteristic, and the material in these elements may likewise be oriented as desired.

The seam 46, connecting the front panel 11 and the triangular portion 18, is provided with a pocket-forming member 47 secured to the inner face of the garment 10. A stay 48 is positioned between the seam 46 and the pocket-forming member 47, as shown in Figure 6. A similar stay (not shown) is positioned behind the edges 32 and 43 of the side panel 19 and the edges 38 and 44 thereof. Another stay (also not shown) is positioned behind the edge 37 of the panel 36 at its line of joining the rear panel 12 and the upper rear panel 14. It should be understood, of course, that stays may be provided, or omitted, in any portion of the garment as desired. Suitable stocking support 49 are secured along the lower edge 50 of the garment. Ribbons 51., or other decorative covers, are positioned to overlie the stocking supports 49. It should be understood, of course, that stocking supports 49 may be omitted if desired. The various section edges are coincidental with the stitching securing the overlapped portions of the sections together.

The garment it as formed with the side sections 20, 24, 29, 36'and 42, provides overlapped areas with the width of the overlapped areas being greater at the point of attachment thereof to the panel, front or rear, where the molding or flattening is to take place. Thus, the overlapped areas of the sections 26 and 24 are greatest where they contact the front panel 11 and converge to a substantially reduced width at the point where they contact the rear panel 12. This overlapped contour-forming portion of the sections 20 and 24 is designed to produce a molding and flattening action on the abdomen of the wearer. The overlapped areas of the sections 24 and 29 likewise have their greatest area at their point of joining front panel 11 and converge upwardly and inwardly to the point Where they intersect the triangular section 42. The overlapped portions of the sections 24 and 29 are likewise designed to produce a flat ng action on the abdomen. The overlapped portions of the sections 24 and 36 have their greatest width at the point where they engage the rear panel 12 and converge upwardly and inwardly to the point where they meet the triangular section 42. The overlapped portions of the sections 24 and 36 are design d to bring additional pressures to bear on the buttocks region to reduce undesirable bulges and mold this region to the desired conformation. The overlapped portions of the sections 20, 24, 29 and 36, respectively, further provide a flattening or smoothing of the figure at the portions of the body underlying the garment 10 at these localities, and to effect an even distribution by the additional pressure exerted by these areas on the flesh so that instead of a direct radial pressure being applied against the fleshier portions of the body, a flattening smoothing support of these areas can be effected. This principle provides a much more effective control of the bodily contours without relinquishing the desired flexi- 'bility of the garment, thus maintaining both the comfort of the wearer and ease in donning or dofling the garment 10. It should also be noted that by increasing or decreasing the width of the overlapped portions, the amount and direction of the control of the body contours can be varied at will.

The zones of speciahor extra strength and control in desired portions of the garment 10 are delineated by the lines of stitching by which the various overlapping portions of the several sections are joined and by variations in the shapes of the said zones the desired amount of control in any portion of the garment 10 can readily be regulated. There is thus created a garment in which the need for, or use of, special elastic or inelastic bands, tapes, extra layers of material and the like is completely eliminated, resulting in not only a more easily constructed garment but one having smoother lines when worn and of greater comfort to the wearer.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a foundation garment of the type having front and rear panels the combination therewith of a pair of elastic side panels connecting the opposite edges of said front and rear panels, with each side panel comprising a lower section secured along its side edges to the front and rear panels and having an upper edge sloping from the mid portion of said front panel downwardly to the lower portion of said rear panel, a central section secured along its side edges to the front and rear panels with the lower edge portion of said central section, underlying the upper portion of said lower section with the width of the underlying portion decreasing from the upper forward portion thereof adjacent the front panel to the lower rear portion thereof adjacent the rear panel, said central section having upwardly converging front and rear upper edges, an upper front section secured along an upright edge thereof to the front panel and having its lower edge portion underlying the upper front edge of said central panel a substantial amount with the width of the second named underlying portion decreasing from the lower front portion thereof adjacent the front panel to the upper rear portion thereof adjacent the center of said side panel, an upper rear section having an upright edge thereof secured to said rear panel and having its lower edge underlying the upper rear edge of the central section with the width of the last named underlying portion decreasing from the lower rear portion thereof adjacent the rear panel to the upper front portion thereof adjacent the center of said side panel and means connecting the forward edge of said upper rear section to the rear edge of said upper front section.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower edge of said central section is concave.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front upper edge of said central section is concave.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower edge and the front upper edge of said central section are each concave.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper edge of said lower section, the lower edge of said upper front section, the lower edge of said upper rear section and the upper rear edge of said central section are each substantially straight.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lower edge and the front upper edge of said central section are each concave.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic sections are formed from material having a two-way stretch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,088,371 Rossiter Feb. 24, 1914 2,675,548 Leonard Apr. 10, 1954 2,745,103 Van Horne May 15, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 462,882 Canada Ian. 31, 1950 884,924 France Q. May 10, 1943 

